Strip-controlling device for sewing machines



Feb. 27, 1945. J C M 2,370,511

STRIP-CONTROLLING DEVICES FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed Sept. 17, 1943 Patented Feb. 27, 1945 STRIP-CONTROLLING DEVICE FOR SEWING MACHINES James E. Ackerman, Devon, Conn, assignor to The Singer Manufacturing Company, Elizabeth, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application September 17, 1943, Serial No. 502,730

8 Claims. (01. 112-203) This invention relates to binding-strip controlling devices foruse in connection with sewing machines and has for its primary object'to provide means for applying a binding strip of openmesh material evenly and in undistorted fashion to the margin of a body material.

In sewing machines having a conventional work-advancing feed-dog and a presser-foot yieldingly opposed to the feed-dog, the presserfoot imposes a drag upon the upper of superposed plies of which the under ply is engaged by the feed-dog during its work-advancing movement. As the'drag imposed upon the upper work-ply by the presser-foot is in a direction opposite to that imposed upon the under work-ply by the feed-dog.

in its work-advancing movement, there is present a tendency to feed the under work-ply faster than the upper work-ply. This tendency results in distortion relatively of the plies. While this distortion may be negligible for certain typesof materials, it may in certain cases be suificient to interfere withthe proper feeding of the work and to result in an undesirable appearance of the stitched article. This is particularly true when the upper and under work-plies comprise portions of the same strip of open-mesh material, as for example a binding-strip.

The present invention has for its specific object to provide means for cbntrolling a binding-strip in it delivery to the stitch-forming mechanismof a sewing machine so as to compensate for the strip-distorting efiects imposed by the conventional feed-dog and presser-foot of the sewing machine.

Other and still more specific objects of the invention will be apparent from the following description and claims. v

The invention consists in the combinations and arrangements of parts comprising a binding-strip controlling device hereinafter described in connection with the accompanying drawing, which illustrates a preferred embodiment of the invention and in which:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a portion of a sewing machine work-support upon which is mounted a transverse binder and the improved strip-controlling device; the presser-foot of the machine being shown partly in top-plan and partly in section, and a fragment of the work being shown in top-plan. Fig. 2 is a front elevation, partly in section, of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1, and

additionally including the sewing machine needle. I

Fig. 3 represents an enlarged vertical section, substantially on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, of the strip-controlling device. Figs. fl and 5 represent in the throat-plate II is a work-advancing feeddog l6 of the lower four-motion type and which feed-dog may be actuated in any usual or suitable manner. Opposed tothe feed-dog I6 is a presserfoot I I attached to the lower end of a presser-bar l8 which may be yieldingly depressed toward the work-support in a conventional manner.

The sole-plate I'l' vof the presser-foot is cut away at one side and in advance of the path of needle-reciprocation to provide a clearancenotch 19 for receiving the strip-reversing deliveryhead of a transverse or strip-reversing binder 20. The binder 20 extends crosswise of the line of seam-formation and has spaced inner and outer walls forming between them a substantially U- shaped strip-guiding passageway 2|. The binder 20 has a shank 22 secured by screws 23 upon the throat-plate II for endwise adjustment of the binder toward and from the line of seam formation. The throat-plate II is preferably formed with a binder-clearance slot 24 elongated transversely of the line of seam formation.

v The present invention relates more particularly to a device for controlling the binding-strip s in its delivery to the binder 2U. Secured by screws 25 upon the throat-plate II is an L-shaped supporting-plate 26 having an upturned arm 26. Attached to the supporting-plate arm 26', by a screw 21 and for adjustment in a direction parallel to the line of seam formation is a substantially rectangular casing 28. The bottom-wall 29 of this casing is preferably detachably secured to the casing side-walls 30 in any suitable manner. The top-wall 3| of the casing 28 is longitudinally recessed in the upper face thereof to provide a rectangular guideway 32 closed at the top by a cover-plate 33; said cover-plate 33 being removglaaly secured upon the casing top-wall by screws Secured in thetop-wall 3| of the casing to depend vertically from said top-wall is a reduced stud 35 of a dead-axle 36. Rotatably journaled' upon the axle 36 is a cylindrical toothed-member 31 having spur-teeth 38 which lengthwise extend vertically substantially from the top wall 3| to the bottom wall 29 of the casing. The lengthwise upper half of the spur-teeth 33 are of substantially constant depth, while the lengthwise lower half of said spur-teeth 38 are beveled downwardly to decrease progressively in depth. In mesh with the spur-teeth38, substantially medianly of the length of the casing 28, are the spur-teeth '39 of a complemental shiftable-axi's toothed-member 40 of cylindrical form. The spur-teeth 39 of the member 40 lengthwise also extend vertically substantially from the top wall 3| to the bottom wall 29 of the casing; said spurteeth 39 being preferably of substantially constant depth throughout thelen'gthsthereo'f; The cylindrical toothed-member "40 is rotatablyddurnaled upon a vertically disposed and laterally shiftable dead-axle 4|. The upper poftion "of the axle 4| is stepwise reduced to form a reduced hub 42 and a further reduced stud 43. The axle-stud 43 is fixedly secured in a slide-plate =44 shifta'bly disposed the casing gm'deway 32 between the top-wall 3'1 and the cover-plate 330f the casing. The hub *42 of the axle '41 extends :through an opening '45 formed in the casing top-wall 3| Threaded i 'nto the top=wal1-3-| of the easing and extending through anaperture 46 provided in "the cover-plate 33 is a fixed post 41 Anchar-ea to the post 4 1 -is one end of a coil-spring 48, of which the opposite end is connected to it post "49. "The post 43 is threaded into the slideplate 4'4 and extends upwardly through a charance-sldt 50 in "the cover-plate 33. The coilspring '48 functions yieldingly to "maintain the which is more remote "from 'the binder '20, -forms an entrance opening for the ibinding strip 's and the wall-slot 52-forms an -exit'op'ening for said strip; {the two slots *51 and 52 being "preferably 'alined crosswise of the casing 28 and being preferably so located that the teeth '38 and 39 inter- To facilitate passing the beginning end of the 'bi'ndihg 's'trip s'tlirdugh th'eb'as in'g 2'8 .and'betwe'en the teeth '38 and 39, one "end wall of fsaidlcasing 28 is provided with an opening53 through which 5| to engag'e'the teeth38 and 39. By finger'or thumb engagement with the teeth 39, the intermeshing "toothed-members '3! and *40 may 'be caused'to feed'the strip s through thecasin'g exitslot '52 for introduction into the binder 20.

In passing between the toothed members 37 and 4ll,thebinding strip is widthw'ise corrugated by 'theteeth 3B and'39. "However, 'theupper'half of "the width "or the strip is more 5 deeply co'rru- Eatedthan'the lower'half of the width of the 'strip,by reason or the fat thatthe lowe'r half of the teeth .38 farebeveled downwardly. Conse- 'quently, in drawing the binding s'tripthrough the described strip coritrolling device, the in'terme'shing teeth 38 and 39 feed a slightly greater length the lower half "thereby distorting 'the bindingstrip widthwise tocompensate for thesubs'equent contrary distortion of the "strip 4 at the "stitching dog l6 and the drag imposed upon the strip by the presser-foot |'I. By thus nullifying the stripdistorting effects of the sewing machine feeding mechanism and presser-foot, the bindingstrip .9 may be smoothly and evenly applied to the margin of a body-material m.

Havingthus set forth the. nature of the invention, wihatI claim hereinisf:

1. In a sewing machine, the combination with a reciprocatory needle, work-feeding mechanism including a feed-dog, a presser-foot opposed to said feed-dog, and [strip-guiding means disposed to direct superposed work-ply portions between said feed-dog and presser-foot, of work-ply controlling means comprising opposed rotary memlb'ers disposed advance of said strip-guiding means fordelivering thereto a greater length of the presser-"foot :eng'aged work-ply portion than of thelfeed-dog engaged work-ply portion.

'2. In a sewing machine, the combination with -a reciprocatoryneedle, a work-advancing iced- "dog, :and ;a presser-ioot opposed 5130 :said iced-dog, of means for delivering :betweentsaid :lpnesserefoot and ifeed-do'g a plurality :ofjply-iportions :of work in superposed relation, :said means 'including rotary members having intermes'hing teethtbetween which the "work-'eply :portions :are passed in adjacent relation and which :te'eth rare :formed to more deeply 'corrugate :on'e i the :a'djacentworkply p'ortion'sIthanthe other.

3. an :a sewing machine, the combination with a reciprocatory need-le, -a work-advancing 'feeddog, a -pressersioot opposed to said Ifeed dog, and a, 'strip foldihg -bind'er, =o'f a binding-strip con- =Jtrbll ing device comprising :intermes'hin'g toothed members b'etween which the -binding strip is flatwis'e in'tr'o'duced tor delivery to said binder, said members having the teeth thereof forme'd'to unevenly corrugate difierent widtlrwise portions of said-strip.

4. m a sewing machine, the ccnnbina'tion' with pair of rotary members journaled in said 'casing 55 and havinfg "int rme'shing-strip=corrugating teeth varying in dep'th of intermesh "lengthwise ."o'f :said members, said teeth intermeshingiinaplane ;extending lengthwis'e of "said "strip-guiding 'slots, 'and means yieldingl biasing sai'dimembers "into oo teeth-intermeshing relation.

6. A 'strip controllin'g "device 'for sewing ,machines comprising, 'a "casinghavmg a itop wall provided with a guideway, a slide-plateshittably -disp'o's'e'd in said guide-Way, -a fixed axis f'dead- 05 axl'e depending from tsaidtop-wall, a laterally *sl'iiftable dead=axle depending from said slideplate in parallel '"relatlonfltosaid fixe'd axis deadaxle, interineshing "toothemmembers "rotatably journaled upon said "axles, a :spring yildingly biasingsaidshiftable'dead-axle towarol'said. fixed of the upper half "ofthe"binding strip than of axis dead-axle,"-sait 1 'c'asinghaving opposed side walls thereof provided "with "stripwntrance and strip-exit slots dispos'ed' tmdirectastrip between sai'd toothe d-membera A strip controlling device for "sewing "machines comprising, a casing having an end wall thereof provided with an opening, said casing having opposed side walls provided with alined strip-entrance and strip-exit slots, intermesliing toothed-members rotatably disposed in said casing and having the t eth thereof intermeshing between said slots, one of said toothed members having the teeth thereof extending into the end wall opening of the casing.

8. In a sewing machine having a horizontally disposed work-support, in combination, a vertically reciprocatory needle, a work-advancing feed-dog operating through said work-support, a

presser-foot opposed to said feed-dog, a strip 

